SOUTH AFRICA…WHAT’S UP!!! YELLOW FEVER, REALLY?

The drama between Nigeria and South Africa has been on for a few days now. I did not want to comment at first because thanks to my extremely busy schedule i did not have time to follow the news. Anyway, I am all caught up now.
This case is really interesting for me seeing as I studied International Relations and diplomatic tensions like this always made for good case studies when i was a student.
So here is the story: 125 Nigerians were reportedly deported from South Africa over the weekend reason being that they did not have yellow fever cards or possessed alleged fake yellow fever cards. The reason this is funny in my opinion is simple, Nigeria has no yellow fever epidemic and has not had since 1995 (or so). So, where does this ‘scare’ come from all of a sudden?
Nigeria retaliated by deporting 56 South Africans for ‘health reasons’ and ‘invalid documentation’. Ha!!! The government also warned that certain spirit of brotherhood would no longer be overlooked and this is no joke because they have made moves to review the status of South Africans presently residing in Nigeria. I smell a diplomatic row. Obviously South Africa’s actions were deemed as unfriendly, I heard someone say it was very childish for Nigeria to have retaliated. I say that is how international relations works…Interesting right?

well, according to the daily post, Nigeria has given the South African government 5 conditions they must meet in order to rekindle friendly ties. They are

– An apology to Nigeria over the ‘deportation saga’

– compensation for the victims

– disciplinary action against the South African officials who were cruel to Nigerians

– a review of the yellow fever vaccination policy and

– a reassurance that such would not repeat itself.

Do you think the South African government will cooperate?????

Would I be going to far if I said Jacob Zuma was only trying to punish Nigeria for the support the Nigerian government gave to the TNC during the Libya crisis?